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Ryanair's May Traffic Numbers Show Five-Month Straight Growth
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Key Takeaways
RYAAY transported 20.7 million passengers in May 2026, a 6% year-over-year increase.
RYAAY's May 2026 load factor of 95% was flat year over year, reflecting stable and consistent demand.
RYAAY operated more than 1,14,000 flights in May 2026.
Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY - Free Report) , a European carrier, reported solid traffic numbers for May 2026, driven by upbeat air-travel demand.
The number of passengers transported on Ryanair flights was 20.7 million in May 2026, reflecting a 6% year-over-year increase. Apart from a year-over-year surge, RYAAY’s traffic in May was much more than the April reading of 19.3 million, the March reading of 15.8 million, the February reading of 13.3 million and the January reading of 12.7 million, highlighting continued momentum from the beginning of the year.
Ryanair’s load factor (percentage of seats filled by passengers) remained flat year over year as well as sequentially at 95% in May 2026, reflecting stable and consistent demand for the carrier’s services. It improved from the load factor of 93% reported in both the months of April and March 2026, 92% reported in February 2026 and 91% reported in January 2026.
RYAAY operated more than 1,14,000 flights in May 2026. This marks an improvement from 1,08,000 flights operated in April 2026, 88,000 flights operated in March 2026, 75,000 flights operated in February 2026 and 73,000 flights operated in January 2026, reflecting expanded capacity to meet strong passenger demand.
We would like to remind investors that Ryanair carried 200.2 million passengers (traffic up 9% year over year) in its fiscal year ending March 2025, positioning itself as the first European airline to reach 200 million passengers in a single year. During 2026, RYAAY’s traffic grew 4% year over year to 208.4 million passengers. Such figures boost RYAAY’s position as one of the world’s leading low-fare airlines in terms of passenger traffic, with low fares and reduced costs acting as the main catalyst.
Given the aforesaid backdrops, Ryanair has unveiled an encouraging traffic outlook for fiscal 2027 (concurrent with its fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 earnings release on May 18, 2026). RYAAY anticipates its fiscal 2027 traffic to grow by 4% to 216 million passengers.
RYAAY’s Zacks Rank & Price Performance
RYAAY currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).
Shares of RYAAY have plunged 18.7% so far this year compared with the 2.5% decline of the Zacks Airline industry.
RYAAY Stock’s YTD Price Comparison
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Stocks to Consider
Investors interested in the Zacks Transportation sector may consider International Seaways (INSW - Free Report) and Expeditors International of Washington, Inc. (EXPD - Free Report) .
INSW has an expected earnings growth rate of more than 100% for the current year. The company has an encouraging earnings surprise history. Its earnings topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, delivering an average beat of 33.93%.
EXPD currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Expeditors has an expected earnings growth rate of 11.9% for the current year. The company has an encouraging earnings surprise history. Its earnings outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, delivering an average beat of 13.96%.
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Image: Bigstock
Ryanair's May Traffic Numbers Show Five-Month Straight Growth
Key Takeaways
Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY - Free Report) , a European carrier, reported solid traffic numbers for May 2026, driven by upbeat air-travel demand.
The number of passengers transported on Ryanair flights was 20.7 million in May 2026, reflecting a 6% year-over-year increase. Apart from a year-over-year surge, RYAAY’s traffic in May was much more than the April reading of 19.3 million, the March reading of 15.8 million, the February reading of 13.3 million and the January reading of 12.7 million, highlighting continued momentum from the beginning of the year.
Ryanair’s load factor (percentage of seats filled by passengers) remained flat year over year as well as sequentially at 95% in May 2026, reflecting stable and consistent demand for the carrier’s services. It improved from the load factor of 93% reported in both the months of April and March 2026, 92% reported in February 2026 and 91% reported in January 2026.
RYAAY operated more than 1,14,000 flights in May 2026. This marks an improvement from 1,08,000 flights operated in April 2026, 88,000 flights operated in March 2026, 75,000 flights operated in February 2026 and 73,000 flights operated in January 2026, reflecting expanded capacity to meet strong passenger demand.
We would like to remind investors that Ryanair carried 200.2 million passengers (traffic up 9% year over year) in its fiscal year ending March 2025, positioning itself as the first European airline to reach 200 million passengers in a single year. During 2026, RYAAY’s traffic grew 4% year over year to 208.4 million passengers. Such figures boost RYAAY’s position as one of the world’s leading low-fare airlines in terms of passenger traffic, with low fares and reduced costs acting as the main catalyst.
Given the aforesaid backdrops, Ryanair has unveiled an encouraging traffic outlook for fiscal 2027 (concurrent with its fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 earnings release on May 18, 2026). RYAAY anticipates its fiscal 2027 traffic to grow by 4% to 216 million passengers.
RYAAY’s Zacks Rank & Price Performance
RYAAY currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).
Shares of RYAAY have plunged 18.7% so far this year compared with the 2.5% decline of the Zacks Airline industry.
RYAAY Stock’s YTD Price Comparison
Stocks to Consider
Investors interested in the Zacks Transportation sector may consider International Seaways (INSW - Free Report) and Expeditors International of Washington, Inc. (EXPD - Free Report) .
INSW currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
INSW has an expected earnings growth rate of more than 100% for the current year. The company has an encouraging earnings surprise history. Its earnings topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, delivering an average beat of 33.93%.
EXPD currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Expeditors has an expected earnings growth rate of 11.9% for the current year. The company has an encouraging earnings surprise history. Its earnings outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, delivering an average beat of 13.96%.